Spain, France wildfires among EU's biggest since 2016

Three wildfires that broke out in Spain and France in July are among the 15 largest recorded in the European Union since 2016, according to the European Forest Fire Information System, as emergency crews and EU officials respond to simultaneous major blazes.

The wildfire in Spain's Avila province, west of Madrid, started on July 22 and is still burning. EFFIS said it has burned almost 44,000 hectares, making it the sixth-largest wildfire recorded in the EU over the past decade.

Another Spanish fire, in Guadalajara province east of Madrid, has burned more than 33,000 hectares and is the 14th-largest recorded in the EU since 2016.

In France, a wildfire near Bordeaux that also started on July 22 is now considered stabilised. EFFIS said it has destroyed more than 38,000 hectares, making it the eighth-largest EU fire in the past 10 years. It is France's largest wildfire since 1949.

EFFIS uses satellite imagery analysis. Its figures may differ from national data because of methodological differences, and estimates can change as new satellite images become available.

The largest EU wildfire recorded by EFFIS since 2016 remains the 2023 fire in Greece's Evros region, which burned more than 96,000 hectares. The next three largest fires were in Portugal, in 2017 and 2025.

France has recorded about 91,000 hectares burned between the start of the year and the end of July, its highest annual burned area since EFFIS records began in 2006. In Spain, the burned area so far this year is five times higher than the average for the same date over the previous 20 years, but has not yet exceeded the highest cumulative area burned by the end of July.

EU officials in Brussels have been coordinating aircraft, helicopters and other equipment for fires in France and Spain. Aircraft from Slovakia, Slovenia, Portugal and Turkey have been deployed to southwestern France since Paris asked for EU help last week. Borja Miguelez, deputy head of the EU emergency centre, said simultaneous large fires in France and Spain were straining ground resources, but that the EU had so far met all requests for assistance.